The Rise of a Legend : Senju Naruko
by TenthHokage
Summary: After an impromptu drunken night with the Yondaime, Senju Tsunade's life takes a turn that will not only change her, but also in a way the whole Shinobi World. Have a seat and read the adventures of the new Senju heir : Senju Naruko! Features fem!Naruto and a darker story. First 2 chapters are inspired by Baal of Yarns and Aragon Potter! Please check them out! Rated M for Language.
1. Chapter 1 - Pack our Bags!

**A/N:** Hey, guys! Welcome to my first fanfiction!

As you probably read the summary, I want y'all to know the first 2 chapters of the prologue are heavily inspired by "Senju Naruto" by Baal of Yarns and "The Hope of the Senju Clan" by Aragon Potter.

Please, go take a look at them!

If you are interested by my story, please go read my bio!

Suggestions, complains and reviews (good and bad) are highly appreciated!

Have a nice read!

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

'Citation'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsu**

" **Evil/Demonical Talking"**

 **I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **Chapter 1: Pack Our Bags!**

-Tsunade-

Daylight was slowly fading out in the calm small countryside village of Kosuge, located around the border of the Land of Riversand the Land of Fire.

Kosuge was a serene village surrounded by a heavy and dense forest. During winter, only silence could be heard there. The village was probably the best place in the Fire Country to keep a low profile.

The perfect spot for Senju Tsunade.

Though, the Slug Princess was actually more interested in its bars.

When the Third Shinobi War finally ended, after all the tragedies she had to go through for Konoha, the woman had decided to just leave, promising herself to never return to the village, her lover and little brother died for.

She was thankful her young apprentice Shizune was travelling with her, sharing her same pain. However, sometimes, Tsunade felt more alone than ever.

Life definitely hadn't been merciful to her, so she'd decided to go out drink and forget her misery.

The bar was also quite silent too. In fact, it seemed a lot of people there came for the same reasons: finding comfort in liquor. Seated on one of the uncomfortable counter's barstools, she commanded one bottle of saké to a short and receding-haired bartender.

As people began entering behind her, she instinctively winced when caught a familiar voice reached her ears.

"-I mean you know, I've never ever lacked inspiration that much, before…"

' _H-Him! Here?! Damn it! What were the odds…?!'_ Tsunade thought with a frown.

"You'll manage… Just think about your faithful fans." another voice answered, chuckling softly. "Now… Why did you bring us here, Jiraiya-sensei? We should get some slee-"

"I know, kid, I know… I just got us here to celebrate! What's better than saké after a damn boring diplomatic visit to Suna?"

While the two voices approached the counter, Tsunade tried her best to hide from the two newcomers.

Funny how she had first come here to forget about Konoha, and that Konoha was now literally coming to her.

' _Ugh… Guess that's what I get for feeling alone… Damn Karma…'_

Thank Kami, having her back turned to them, the two men didn't recognize her, much to her surprise.

' _Well…Okay... It's been easy…_ '

Though, she froze when the tall, spiky white haired man swiftly sat on the barstool right between her and his blond former student.

'… _Damn it…'_

Tsunade quickly turned her head away from the two shinobi so they could not see her face. Performing a **Henge no Jutsu** **(Tranformation Technique)** would be too noticeable, especially for the two experienced men who would probably sense or notice it. So, she envisaged the best ways to escape the scene without being seen by the two men. However, a deep part of her didn't, and appreciated the presence of the two friendly shinobi, even though she didn't want to admit it.

"Sensei, thank you again for coming with me. I know you were kind of busy with your novels and all…" she heard Minato say.

"Hehe! Don't worry about it, I'm not really much of a diplomatic person, but I liked travelling with you… Reminded me of the good old times." Jiraiya uttered. "I won't lie, though; I expected at least one public bath there, I mean it's so hot and sunny, there… It could have helped me for my inspiration problem…"

' _Ugh… Jiraiya… For a moment, I thought you'd become Hokage counselor or something, but I guess you still haven't changed... I envy you…'_

The late January night went on, and Tsunade was still waiting for an opening to leave silently. The two men were happily starting their first bottle of saké when she suddenly jumped when Jiraiya's hand firmly grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, excuse me, beautiful… You've been quite silent, tonight... It's a pity for such a pretty blonde like you..."

Tsunade froze but barely managed to keep herself from shaking in anger.

Jiraiya, on his side, seemed to get even more interested in the mysterious shivering woman. Baffled by her silence, he added.

"Now, come on, baby, don't be so shy! What's your nam-"

Before the Toad Sage could try and carry his lame seduction attempt on, he recognized in horror the flaming brown eyes of his enraged former teammate slowly turning to face him.

"T-Tsunade-hime… y-you were here the whole time?!" Jiraiya stammered, a light but intense killing intent began emanating from the Slug Princess, shaking him from the inside. He might have faced harder ones, but Tsunade's was traumatizing.

"Jiraiya, put down this dirty hand of yours before I break it, cut it and shove it up in your ass, you damn jerk!" Tsunade muttered harshly, glaring at the white haired shinobi.

"S-Sure" he said, moving his trembling hand the furthest away possible from her.

The man hadn't physically changed very much since the last time she had seen him. Only looked a bit older.

Though her eyes paid much more attention to the man next to him.

Indeed, the mere jōnin, she had often crossed paths with back in the time, had turned into a mature man with spiky blond hair and bright azure eyes. The man was simply wearing a basic Konoha uniform composed of a green flak jacket and blue pants, his hitai-ate, proudly tied on his forehead. While he was protectively keeping his Hokage hat hidden beneath the counter, Tsunade guessed the blond hadn't taken his cloak to avoid being recognized. He seemed to have succeeded as none of the bar's customers had noticed the Kage's entrance.

In the end, Tsunade would have been lying if she said she didn't find him looking great.

"That's a pleasant surprise to see you there, Tsunade-hime." He said, with a light respectful bow. "How have you been doing?"

"Fine." she lied. With a smile, she added. "I'm actually pretty surprised to find the Yondaime in this shithole!"

This earned her a glare from the bartender, but she ignored it.

"Well, it's been a long week, Tsunade-hime." he said tiredly. "Time to have a little fun and enjoy life... I guess…"

Tsunade briefly chuckled before pouring three glass cups of her bottle of saké and sliding two to the men.

"Hmm... Right, let's drink to that." she said, raising her drink.

The three of them cheered and quietly emptied their glasses, lost in their thoughts.

"Hey, hime..." Jiraiya, suddenly, breaking the silence. "It's been a while you've been away… You're still not coming back?"

"Jiraiya, for the last time, I'm never coming back to Konoha again! It's a past I want to leave behind" Tsunade yelled.

The whole bar went silent.

' _Wow. That's embarrassing… I'm a walking living mess…'_

A few heads turned to the sudden noise but quickly returned in their drinking at the glares the Slug Sannin sent them.

Who were they to judge her, after all?

"I'm pretty sure Konoha won't forget you."

Tsunade turned her head to the Hokage.

This type of comment coming from Jiraiya would have highly irritated her, taking it as an attempt to tease her or something. But she felt somewhat flustered to hear it coming from Minato, smiling genuinely at her.

She tried her best to hide her uncontrollable blush behind her glass. That confused her wildly: she wasn't really the type to blush… was she?

' _That got to be the saké…'_

"W-Well, thank you, Minato, b-but it won't change my mind."

The blond looked at her intantly then nodded in understanding.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, oblivious to the exchange happening around him, ordered another bottle.

"Okay hime, it's your choice, do whatever you want…" he sighed. Then with a disturbing smile and wriggle of eyebrows, he asked. "So what have you done lately…? Met some men?"

The murderous glare she gave him quickly made him gulp and shift his attention to the young man on his right. "What about you, kid?"

Tsunade proceeded in taking another sip, slightly more interested by the conversation.

"Err… actually sensei, I'm more like… into women, you see…"

"I know that, kid... I meant girls." Jiraiya smiled, Minato could be so innocently dense sometimes. "You into someone?"

The blonde looked up from her glass.

"Err… Well, I used to hang out with Kushina before being Hokage, you see... But in the end, it just didn't work out..."

"A pity…" Tsunade muttered.

Her eyes widened. _'Shit! Did I say that out loud?!'_ '

Luckily, the two men didn't seem to have heard her comment; Jiraiya, too busy lecturing about the danger of bad tempered women while Minato listened, his usual calm and innocent smile over his slightly tanned skin, from his little trip to Suna.

' _What was that, dammit...?! It must be the saké… Come on, Tsunade, you're stronger than that!'_

* * *

-Minato-

The night continued for the three shinobi as the bar slowly approached its closing.

It was only when the trio finished their third bottle of saké that Jiraiya began his madness.

"Minatooo!" cried Jiraiya. "MINATOOO, WHERE ARE YOUU?!"

"R-Right next to you, S-Sensei." the blond man whimpered, chuckling hard at his sensei's antics. "D-Didn't know y-you were t-that much of a lightweight d-drinker…"

To be honest, he was himself quite smashed and was barely managing to sit on his stool, but Jiraiya was a whole other story.

"OH! MINATOO…!" Jiraiya howled loudly, shaking the dark bar.

"Hey, shithead! Calm down, or I get you out of here!" the short bartender screeched.

Clearly, the civilian didn't recognize the shinobi he was threatening. The latter, highly intoxicated, didn't appreciate the way he was referred at all, and proceeded to jump over the counter when he was abruptly stopped by a violent chop on the back of his neck, leaving him unconscious on the floor, snoring like a bear on hibernation.

"Ow…I-I t-think I hit him a little too hard…" Minato muttered, rubbing his sore hand. Then, making a ridiculous salute to the short man, he smiiled. "P-Problem has been solved, sir!"

The bartender shook his head and turned back to his cleaning, side-eyeing scrupulously the three customers, unaware of their prestige in the shinobi world.

"H-Hey…! M-Minato-kun!"

The man turned to see Tsunade struggling to keep her balance on her stool, his Hokage hat gently covering her head, while she giggled in a very childish and uncharacteristic way.

He hadn't even felt her steal his precious hat, but at this moment, he couldn't care less.

He couldn't bring his eyes away from the blond hair, perfect red lips and the brown eyes softly shining under the dimly lightened bar, allowing him to fully admire the fascinating face features of the Slug Princess.

"W-Wow, you'd sure l-look g-great as a Hokage, Tsunade-chan."

Both blushed at his words. Tsunade giggled harder and looked at him closely, battling her eyelashes to him. _'Tsunade being happy like that is kind of cute… Now that I think about it, she's really beautiful…_ _ **BUT**_ _, I… I can't…'_

However, his inner voice sounded way too low and barely audible. He felt like his body was a master of its own, while his helpless mind was spectator.

-Tsunade-

Tsunade giggled like an innocent teenager, unaware of the hypnotizing effect she had on the blond shinobi. She watched him stand and struggle to sit on Jiraiya's barstool, closer to her, while carefully avoiding stepping on his sensei, still sleeping and drooling all over the floor's wooden planks.

"Oh, r-really? Y-you do think s-so?" she asked, giggling again.

"I'm… I'm certain, T-Tsunade-chan." He stuttered, and both of them found their eyes widen at his words.

Tsunade felt herself lean even closer to him.

' _Oh Kami! Are we flirting? How much did we drink ?!'_ she thought, barely controlling her gestures.

She knew these kind of situations could get very dangerous… especially for a woman. So, while a big part of her didn't seem to care about what was happening around her anymore, another focused hardly on not doing anything she would regret.

Though, she helplessly witnessed her right hand slowly reach his left one.

'… _Fuck'_

* * *

" _Knock knock"_

Tsunade woke up suddenly with a throbbing headache and a sickening feeling of dizziness. She tried to take note of her surroundings but the dawn bright winter light entering the room through the silk curtains made it nearly impossible. She hastily closed her eyes, for the sake of her brain's health.

" _Knock knock"_

She knew she had drunk last night, but she failed to remember how in the hell she had ended up in her bed. Softly raising her hand to her head, she applied a **Mystical Palm Technique (Medical Jutsu)** on it, making her headache slowly fade away. She proceeded at the same time on trying to remember the events on her last night.

" _Knock knock"_

She first remembered the bar she was drinking at… She had chosen the place as it was near her hotel enough, so she wouldn't get lost or something. Then, she reminisced entering and commanding a bottle of saké…

" _Knock knock"_

She remembered the old, small, wrinkled and bald bartender, bringing a smile to her face, but she couldn't place why. She then recalled hiding from something, it was a bit embarrassing but she felt like she was avoiding something… or someone… did she owe them money? Could they be a threat to her? That seemed a bit odd…

" _Knock knock"_

She interrupted her jutsu, irritated by the headache and unceasing knocking. She glared at the small chamber's door.

"Come in, Shizune!" she groaned loudly.

While the door opened gently, she intended to get out of bed before discovering her… nudity. In a quick and swift move of panic, she brought the white blanket up to her eyes level.

' _What the hell?! I never sleep naked!'_

-Shizune-

Shizune, stood on the door frame with breakfast on a plate and Tonton, Tsunade's small ninja pig right behind her, oinking lazily. Both had just woken up an hour ago.

It was about 11 AM. Yet, Tsunade's room was still quite dark due to the closed curtains, the only dim light illuminating the bed.

Shizune was glad to hear during the night that her mentor had safely come back home, even though she waked her in the process. The blond woman had ridiculously made a lot of noise, as if she was struggling to find her door or her bed, moaning loudly from frustration…

It was evident that the fair-skinned blond kunoichi was hurting, desperately trying to find refuge in drinking and gambling.

The jōnin had tried a lot of times to talk her out of it, but the Sannin's stubbornness and short-temper always got the best of her. For now, she didn't really know what to do for the Sannin, but she promised herself to never give up on the blonde.

"Good morning, Tsunade-sama. I've brought you coffee, milk, and some bread, I ho-" the second she took a step into the room, she saw Tsunade, weirdly wrapped beneath her blanket, tense visibly, her face blazing red.

"T-Tsunade-sama, are you okay?" she asked, moving towards the side of the bed. She was halfway there when Tsunade practically yelled at her. "Shizune, stop!"

The jōnin frowned but obeyed her sensei and stopped. "O…Okay…" she whispered, slowly putting down the plate on the wooden floor, then looking up, she saw the blonde's face now so red, she wondered how she had still not passed out from the amount blood in her head.

Obviously, something was wrong.

"Tsunade-sama? What's wrong?" she asked, now really concerned.

"Shi-Shizune, p-please come back later. R-right now I-I'm a bit bus-" the blonde stuttered, looking at anything but Shizune's eyes.

Seeing the Sannin feeling embarrassed worried her even more.

But as Tsunade babbled, the black haired girl noticed something moving under the sheets right next to the blond woman. Slowly assimilating what she just saw, she stormed off the room with a brusque **shunshin (Body Flicker)** , slamming the door behind her while screaming apologies.

As she walked the furthest away possible from the room, Shizune grabbed the blonde's small pet pig Tonton and tried to find something to distract her from wondering who was the man Tsunade spent the night with.

' _Oh Kami… I hope it doesn't become a thing like the gambling!'_ the medic-nin cried. She then gasped in realization. _'So_ _ **that**_ _was the noises I heard?!'_ she shivered. _'Ugh… Gross!'_

* * *

-Tsunade-

While she thought being found naked pretty embarrassing, she also found Shizune's reaction quite exaggerated. They were both women after all.

The Senju peacefully let her blanket fall over her body, then got back in her reminiscing session, as not recalling anything more than commanding saké.

Though, her heart almost stopped as she felt a hand softly gripping a feature she was very famous for.

That was a male hand.

That meant that a man was there.

In her bed.

While she was naked.

' _Kami, how didn't I notice that…! So that's why Shizune freaked out?! Shit!'_

As she regained her bearings from the sudden attack, she noticed the large bump hidden underneath her sheets besides her move softly, as well as light snores. So, before she killed the intruder, she decided to learn his identity.

Lifting slowly the white layer preparing for the worse, she noticed bright blond spiky hair, then the face of a famous shinobi: Konoha's Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, calmly asleep under her sheets.

At his sight, memories from the late night all _flashed_ before her eyes.

' _Shit! How the…Am I Hokage-cursed or something?!'_

As good as the night was… from the glimpses of memories she had at least, she knew that was a mistake. A massive mistake. Was there any _bigger_ word than massive?

' _Fuckin' saké!'_

She realized with a sigh that the man's hand was still laying on her 'gifted' chest with a small grin unconsciously appearing on his goofy face, making her boil in anger.

Asleep or not, that wasn't something she was just going to accept.

' _There's no way that baka enjoy himself any more than he already has.'_

She cracked her knuckles.

* * *

-Minato-

That morning, Minato had a dreamless sleep. Though, it was surprisingly comfortable, soft, pleasant and incredibly smooth. Well, at least, until blatant pain he suffered from when he woke up.

Completely disoriented at the heavy blow, Minato took a minute to recover from the seemingly punch he received on the top of his head, leaving a relatively big hairy bump there.

Quickly taking account of his surroundings, and accommodating to the dim, yet blinding light, he froze when he realized he was naked in what he thought was a bed.

"Wha… W-Where am I?" he growled, the sound his own voice intensifying his already cruel headache.

"Somewhere you should have never been, asshole!" a female voice rumbled.

Minato's eyes widened in fear, jumping out of the bed in a blink of an eye. In the process, he swiftly caught his Hokage hat, lying on the floor with the rest of their scattered clothes, and tried to hide his intimacy the least ridiculously way… without success.

Tsunade just watched the reaction with a mocking smirk. Wrapped in the white sheets, she quickly remembered what they had just done, rapidly made her lose her cool.

"T-T-Tsunade-hime?! Oh, Kami…!" he cried, still wide-eyed. "D-D-Did we just-"

"PLEASE! Please, don't say it out loud, jerk!" she heckled.

Minato complied, but still didn't truly understand what was happening to him, until he started to slowly recall the events of their last night.

His eyes widened so much, Tsunade feared they'd fallen.

"T-This isn't right…" he babbled.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows and snickered.

"What? Don't like older women?"

"N-No, it's not about that, Tsunade-hime, it's just… It was… it was... unexpected?"

They stayed silent, staring at each other for a minute when the blonde shook her head.

"Unexpected? Brat, you took advantage of me, last night! I should kill you, asshole!" she growled.

"I'd never do that, Tsunade-chan! Hell, I even drank more than you! Plus, _you_ are the one who brought me here!"

It was true: and all for that stupid bet of her! Back then, both were madly intoxicated and their forgotten mutual friend Jiraiya already unconscious. Then, Tsunade had challenged him to drink a bottle by himself. It took him some time, but he somehow got through.

He didn't even remember what he was supposed to win for that…

"Tsunade- _CHAN_?" she yelled. "You don't know me, dickhead…!"

Before she could continue, the Hokage held his hands in the air defensively.

"Wait! Wait! Listen…" Minato said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "This whole thing was a hell of a mistake…"

"That's my line!"

"…But there's no point in arguing even more about all that. What's done is done." he continued calmly. "Now… I think I'll go then we both forget about that… unfortunate accident. Right?"

Tsunade got a bit angered to see his calm attitude.

By blaming him, she was unconsciously trying to convince herself she wasn't responsible of that 'accident'.

She's never had really had a one-night-stand before… it was… perturbing.

"Alright… Let's… forget about that. you'd fuckin' better keep it all for yourself or I swear I'll make your life a living hell!" the blond Hokage nodded shakily. "Now, could you… could you please leave?" she said, side-eyeing the blond man.

"Sure… I-… Just, do you mind… Err… y'know… not look while I dress?" he told her nervously, pointing the hat he used as a cover.

Tsunade snickered, slowly turning her head away from the muscular shinobi. "Tsk! Pretty hard to un-see that, you know?" she muttered with a cheeky smile.

Blushing hard, Minato quickly dressed, then headed for the window. Opening it in an instant, he chuckled. "Have a pleasant day, Tsunade-chan."

Responded by a terrifying glare, he quickly left, still muddled by what happened. Life was sure full of surprises.

Later that day, he found Jiraiya wandering off in the cold the streets, still a bit dizzy. He told his former student about his money being robbed while he was passed out. The poor Sannin was deeply annoyed by that, and of course, he would have never suspected both of his former apprentice and teammate were the responsible and had used it to buy saké.

Jiraiya also asked the blond shinobi why he hadn't helped him walk to the hotel so he could have slept on a bed instead of an uncomfortable, stinky alleyway. To that, the Yondaime just told him he got as drunk as him and found trouble with a woman he met later. That wasn't technically a lie, and Minato was not a liar, but he swore to Tsunade he wouldn't even think about it.

Thankfully, Jiraiya didn't press him into a detailed explanation, he instead looked greatly proud of his student. However, he proceeded in warning him again about the dangers of women and lust for shinobi.

Minato smiled at his lecture, lost in his thoughts. The small Village of Kosuge now held memories he'd certainly never forget.

* * *

-Tsunade-

Minato had just left her room with a Shunshin, letting some cold air flow into the room. Sighing heavily, Tsunade got out of bed a moment later before quickly getting dressed. She was also glad Shizune couldn't to see the man she had shared her bed with, so the secret wouldn't be unveiled.

' _I trust her, but the less people know about it, the better.'_ she thought.

The _accident_ convinced herself she wouldn't drink saké before a long time.

It only seemed to bring her more trouble than solutions.

The blonde hastily ate the breakfast on the tray Shizune brought, then head out to find her pupil. Then, taking one last quick glance at her bed, rubbed her eyes, and left.

' _Well… I guess it could have been worse.'_ she sighed with a smirk.

"PREGNANT?!"

"I-I checked three times, Tsunade-sama, I'm sure, now. It also explains your nauseas, and you being two months late…" Shizune muttered, patting carefully the blonde's shoulder.

Tsunade was frozen, looking far in distance to process what she just learned, her brain gears working in full speed.

Being a medic, she had recognized the symptoms but had strictly denied the possibility.

She, Senju Tsunade of the Sannin, pregnant?

' _Fuck! Could my life really could get any worse?'_

Slowly getting over the shock, Tsunade suddenly got up from her chair, surprising both of her apprentice and Tonton trying to comfort her.

'Shizune!' she violently barked.

"H-Hai!" she answered, a bit taken aback by the Sannin's unpredictable mood.

"Pack our bags! We're leaving for Konoha!" she ordered as if it was obvious.

"K-Konoha…?" Shizune stammered incredulously. Her mentor had sworn to never return to the Hidden Leaf Village, due to all the deaths and trauma she associated to it.

"Shizune! We're going to find the son of a bitch who knocked me up!" she yelled, raising her fist, the eyes shining with blood lust. Shizune gasped and silently prayed for whoever was the baby's father and the pain he will soon have to suffer. Shaking her head, she ran to prepare for their long travel.

* * *

-Hokage's Residence Roof-

The sun was peacefully setting over Konoha before the Fourth Hokage.

The landscape was truly amazing and peaceful. From the orange and yellow sunlight draping over Konoha's buildings, to the small kids having fun and laughing in the streets; the sight was a nice reminder of everything the blond Kage fought and worked hard for: peace and prosperity.

"Um… I liked coming up there. It gave me a little peace of mind when things went south." he heard his predecessor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, mutter behind him.

"So do I, Hiruzen-san…" he said, smiling. Swiftly turning his back to the village, he looked at the white haired man. "Jiraiya-sensei, do you have anything to report from your travels?"

"Well, not really. Nothing too alarming has caught my attention, for now, at least. I think I-" Jiraiya stopped and his eyes widened, looking behind the Yondaime. "What the hell is that?" he whispered, squinting forcefully.

Following his gaze, Minato turned back to watch the village again. Though, this time, he spotted a large trail of dust, elevating in the air and making its way to the Hokage's office through the alleys and streets of Konoha. The thing was moving very fast, making it hard to identify.

"Who's that?" he asked, his eyebrows raised, oblivious to the storm coming at him.

"It's… moving towards us…" Jiraiya whispered.

"Wait…" Hiruzen started. "Is that-"

However, shouts interrupted him, each time a bit louder, until they finally started to be comprehensible.

" **MINATOO, YOU MOT…UCKER!"**

Konoha's citizens didn't even get to recognize the blond Sannin returning to their village at the speed she ran. They only saw dirt and dust spreading across the streets screaming obscenities, some believed it was some young delinquent genin.

The Yondaime blinked repeatedly when he recognized the human being behind all this hysteria, while Hiruzen and Jiraiya stared wide-eyed at the blond woman racing against the building wall before jumping above their heads.

Once she landed on the roof with a loud long thud, the maniac woman, foaming like an enraged dog, looked around for her prey before finally locking eyes with Konoha's Yellow Flash.

"YOU!" she said, pointing her finger aggressively to the confused Hokage.

Though, before she could make a step towards him, two ANBU appeared between them.

"P-Please, Tsunade-sama! Stay back or we'll have to subdue you!" the Owl ANBU asked, his shaky voice betraying the lack of confidence he had in fighting the legendary Sannin.

"ANBU!" Minato, closing his eyes, called. "You two are dismissed. Please, leave."

"HAI!" They both shouted, with a tone that could be hinting a smile of relief, then **shunshin** 'd away.

"Now," Minato said, his eyes still shut, with a serene tone that unnerved even more Tsunade. "What's the matter?"

"Yeah, hime. You know, you can't just barge in the village like a mad man, and disrespect the Hokage like that." Jiraiya said calmly. With that, the poor fool approached her, and placed his left hand on the woman's shoulder, whose eyes widened worryingly at the contact. And with a smile, he added. "It's not like he's done anything wrong!"

Shizune, who had walked slower than the blonde, just arrived to the Hokage's mansion roof when she heard a piercing scream that could have been certainly heard in the Land of Water.

She looked up to see in horror an agonizing Jiraiya, holding his left arm twisted in an unbelievable overhand knot. For a second, she feared Jiraiya-sama was the baby's father, until she noticed Tsunade's frightening glare directed at the white-cloaked blond Kage.

The poor man was now visibly worried after watching his former mentor getting brutally wrecked.

"AARGHH! MY ARM!" the dumbfounded Jiraiya cried out, peering at his knotted arm. "MY ARM! Oh Kami… That… That's not genjutsu! W-WHY TSUNADE?!"

However, his sobs were ignored as Tsunade once again began making her way to the blond, her raised finger turning into a clenched fist.

The Hokage, now honestly scared for his life, deeply regretted his ANBU. But he thanked the heavens when he was once again saved, but this time by Hiruzen who stepped in front of him. The former Hokage was himself confused by the scene he had to spectate.

"Tsunade," he said slowly. "What is the meaning of all this?"

Tsunade slightly calmed down at his voice and kept staring at the panicked Kage.

"Sensei…" she began, emitting a killing intent that shook everyone on the roof. "I'm two-month pregnant."

Minato froze, like struck by a thunderstorm.

Sarutobi, quickly figuring the father's identity, struggled to catch his breath.

"WHAT?! YOU, PREGNANT?! Hime, who's the father?" Jiraiya asked incredulously, after a moment.

' _Damn! Who's the genius who knocked Senju Tsunade up?_ ' the Sage thought, wincing at the unbearable pained arm.

"Tsk!" Tsunade gasped and violently turned her head halfway to him. "Your dumbass of a student!"

At these words, Jiraiya's eyes rolled up in his head, passing out immediately, from both the intolerable pain and the shock of his protégé doing the unimaginable. Shizune decided to go fix and heal the poor Sannin.

"Now, you, asshole!" Tsunade yelled to the young blond. "You'd better take your responsibility for this kid or I'll make sure you can't make others anymore!"

At this, Minato came of his daze.

"Err… Wow… Sure I-I'm… I'll take care of my child, of course!" he assured.

"Good!" After a pause, she said. "And also, the baby won't stay in Konoha!"

"Yeah… yeah… sure… WAIT! What?! You can't just leave Konoha like that!" he yelled.

"I can, Minato. This place is way too dangerous. The kid won't know safety, here!" she said harshly approaching him.

"So you think leaving with no one else but you to protect our baby is a good idea?"

"There won't be any danger I can't handle out there, Minato! I know what I'm sayi-"

"If you don't want to stay in Konoha. Fine. Leave. But the baby stays here!"

"WHAT?! I'm the mother, idiot! I'm the one who decide that!"

"Well, I'm the father, so I guess I have a word to say about my child's life, don't you think?!"

"KIDS!" Hiruzen barked loudly, cutting the argument. "There's no need to fight when both of you are on the same side; you both want the better for your kid!"

The two parents briefly glanced at each other.

"Listen," Hiruzen continued, "You two are famous, gifted shinobi of the Hidden Leaf…"

"Not anym-" Tsunade began, but Hiruzen quickly raised his hand.

"But, you, also have plenty of enemies… Obviously, this was not something you were expecting..." The two blonds tried avoiding each other's gaze as they listened to the Sandaime's words. "But you got to realize that the kid will be in already danger, for being your kid but also the heir of the Senju Clan..."

"Tell us something we don't know, sensei." the Slug Princess sighed.

"I'm trying to find a compromise there, Tsunade..." the old man grunted, he then scratched his white haired chin. "Now… I suggest you that we keep your pregnancy secret... Of course, it means you won't go through it in Konoha... but rather in a hideout our shinobi forces don't use anymore... I'm actually thinking of a place, about a few hours from here, in some clearing..."

"WHAT?! I won't give birth to my baby in the middle of a damn forest!" the Sannin yelled, crossing her arms.

"I didn't say you would, Tsunade!" Hiruzen grumbled, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. "The place is also near of a small village named Kariwa. With that, you won't find yourself confined during your pregnancy. However, you'll have to hide your identity… maybe under a **Henge** … that you seem to have mastered…" he muttered with a small smirk, that quickly disappeared at the chilling glare he received in response.

"So where will she give birth, then?" Minato asked tiredly. The blond had been a father for barely half an hour, and he already felt like leading a village was easier.

"Well, to me, the delivery should take place in Konoha, you two's birthplace. But again, we shall keep it secret for a moment…"

"Ugh… Alright, I'm fine with the birthplace thing and all… But then what? We can't just keep the kid hidden forever!" Tsunade said confused.

"It all depends to what you, parents, think is the best for the child. I personally don't fully trust some people from Konoha… though I don't like the idea of hiding away from here either, especially when we can offer some good protection. The best would be to give the kid the most normal childhood."

The three of them stayed silent for a moment, contemplating their options.

Crazy how saké could change a life.

"Being parents is no damn fun…" Tsunade finally whispered with a pout.

' _Ugh… actually, guess there's actually a bigger word for "massive mistake": Unexpected Pregnancy!'_

* * *

 **A/N:** Chapter 2 will soon be posted! Don't forget to review!

Update 1 : Changed Chapter Title, and disclaimers.


	2. Chapter 2 - What Next? Uchiha?

**A/N:** Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

As you probably read the summary, I want y'all to know the first 2 chapters of the prologue are heavily inspired by "Senju Naruto" by Baal of Yarns and "The Hope of the Senju Clan" by Aragon Potter.

Please, go take a look at them!

If you are interested by my story, please go read my bio!

Suggestions, complains and reviews (good and bad) are highly appreciated!

Have a nice read!

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

'Citation'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsu**

" **Evil/Demonical Talking"**

 **I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately. Or Neji wouldn't have died this way.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

**Chapter 2: What Next? Uchiha?**

-Minato-

"Ugh! Being parents is no fun." Tsunade whispered, dropping her head.

"Yeah, don't tell me about it…" Minato said with his signature smile.

Though, it quickly disappeared with the glare Tsunade sent him. Clearly, she was still mad.

"Hey, asshole, let's get things straight! Don't think that just because we're gonna have a damn kid, we're together or anything, okay? You're definitely not my type." she said furiously.

' _Not what you said…'_ Minato thought saying but he quickly resigned himself. If the short-tempered Sannin was going to be his child's mother, he'd better get well on with her.

"Don't worry, you're not mine either." he finally said, proud of himself, his smile returning.

Silence.

Hiruzen glanced at Minato, puzzled by the his foolish and suicidal words.

' _Err… Did I say something wrong?'_

"What did you say, baka?! Are you insulting me?" she blared, savagely approaching him to invade his private secure space.

"What?! No! Y-You just said the same to me! What's wrong with you?!" Minato cried, bewildered by the woman's reasoning.

"T-T-That's not something you say to your kid's mother, you fuckin' idiot." she spat suddenly with a shaky voice.

And with that, the Sannin bursted in tears, lamely covering her face with her both hands. The scene was awfully weird and disturbing to spectate, especially for Minato, first victim of Tsunade's sudden mood shifts. Hiruzen sneakily backed away from the potential danger his emotional former student state could represent.

On his side, embarrassed to helplessly watch the blonde sob loudly, Minato tried and reached for a hug, despite the risks. Sarutobi, Shizune and Jiraiya, who had miraculously recovered from a torn arm, all observed the scene in distance, anxious for their Hokage survival.

However, Minato, wide-eyed, against all odds, successfully took the Slug Sannin around his arms. Even more unexpectedly, the effect was immediate, as she immediately calmed down.

Catching the three other shinobi in the corner of the eye, jaw-dropped, Minato felt his confidence grow, and, slowly began stroking her long smooth blond hair with his right hand, his left pressed against the crook of her back.

Tsunade instantly tensed, freezing at the same time the now panicked Hokage.

"Minato…" she muttered against his chest, taking a hard breath. "Thank you."

Even more wide-eyed, he smiled nervously at his improbable prowess.

' _Ha! She might be playing the tough ones, but she's actually as scared as me about this whole thin-'_

His thoughts were abruptly broken when a sudden sharp pain irrupted in the middle of his stomach. His blue eyes, threatening to fall out their sockets, turned to see the blond Sannin's fist profoundly buried in his belly, sucking out the breath out of his lungs.

Surprised and also deeply confused, he fell to his knees, struggling and achingly gasping for air. Looking up, he saw the Slug Princess burning face, holding a fist, certainly infused of chakra.

"Don't you dare touching me, brat! You've done enough!" she spat. The blonde turned on her heels, and moved towards Shizune who watched embarrassedly the weird argument with the two older shinobi.

"Shizune! Sensei! We're leaving to that damn hideout of yours!"

Before Hiruzen could even open his mouth, she stormed off the village with a **shunshin** , followed by a befuddled Shizune. The Sandaime slowly turned to his successor, still struggling pitifully on the ground.

He smiled sadly to the poor man. "Night has fallen, Minato. You should go get some sleep." And with that, he disappeared.

The Hokage, after quite some time, managed to get on his feet, slowly adjusting his messed outfit.

He sighed heavily. "How am I even supposed to sleep, now?"

"Really, kid?!" Jiraiya cried behind him.

"Sensei, I'm having a kid. Believe it or not… but I don't think I'm ready for that."

"Oh, yeah… I see… Well… You know I guess there's got to be some price to pay to get laid with Tsunade…" he snickered. "I knew you were some kind of prodigy but I never expected that much potential in you... Uzumaki, Senju… What next? Uchiha?! Haha! I'm a hell of a sensei, right…?"

Noticing his student's silence and depressed look, the Sannin gave up on his teases and grabbed the blond's shoulder.

"Kid, what's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, the man distractively ruffled his hair.

"What… What's going to happen now, sensei? What am I even supposed to do? Am I going to be a good father? Am I even ready for it? And how am I supposed to take care of my family while looking after a whole village?!"

Minato shivered, and whispered shakily. "I can't and I won't fail them, sensei, but right now, I don't know what to do…"

Jiraiya had to admit he was surprised to see his student in such a broken state.

Minato was usually confident and optimist in any situation. Yet, even though he hid it well in front of his baby's mother, the news had worked him hard.

Jiraiya took a breath and activated his 'serious mode' for the sake of his brooding student.

"Minato, you're a talented, strong, and good-hearted shinobi. As your sensei and friend, I've never doubted you once, because I know your determination and talent have no limit. This new… thing you'll face is no different; I don't doubt you'll make the good choices and at the end assuring your role as Hokage and father."

Minato stayed silent for a minute, slowly processing his sensei's words.

Though, His face lightened up when he realized that he had to do it.

And he could do it! He'd just figure a way to make it out… like he's always done before!

Placing a grateful hand on top of sensei's, still gripping his shoulder, he took a deep breath.

"Thank you, sensei. I needed that."

"It's alright, kid." Jiraiya chuckled. "I would have shit my pants too."

Minato rolled his eyes, but smiled. Both men stood in silence, watching the rising moon illuminating the now sleeping and dark village.

Jiraiya coughed.

"So basically, Minato, if there wasn't that whole stuff about kids and all, you would have never told me about you and Tsunade?"

Minato grinned. "Of course not, sensei, that's personal! And I wouldn't brag about that like some teenager…"

"Fool! That _woman_ you impregnated isn't just some ordinary woman! That's Senju Tsunade we're talking about! You should receive some kind of service medal or somethin'!" he yelled with his signature perverted smirk. "I'm so proud of you, right now, y'know? Hm… Perhaps I've failed somewhere if it ended with a kid..." he added, scratching his chin with raised eyebrows.

"SENSEI!" the blond choked, his face burning with a blush. He swiftly moved to head to his office, when his former teacher called him.

"Hey, kid… You think you could tell me about it?"

The muddled blond froze abruptly on his track, he added wriggling his eyebrows.

"Because I could really use some _good_ inspiration, if you see what I mean?"

The blond closed his eyes forcefully before muttering.

"Only if you do something for me…"

"What do you need, kid?"

"I want you to… to be my kid's sensei… And also… I-I want to have a copy before it's out…"

"DEAL! Haha!" the white-haired man shouted madly. "You don't know how happy I am, Minato! Consider those two things done, kid. Ah! I knew I could count on you! Hell, I'll even credit you as co-writer for that!" he added with a genuine smile.

"Err… I'd rather not…"

"Your choice!" the Sannin said with a fierce slap on the blond's back. Then, heading to the stairs leading to the Hokage's office, he added with a wince. "Now, come on we've got things to work on! I'd better check that damn arm too…"

Minato sighed loudly and slowly followed him.

' _Everything's going to be alright… Hopefully."_

* * *

-Tsunade-

Tsunade stood anxiously in her soon-to-be new house's living room with Hiruzen and Shizune.

The place was not bad looking; in fact, it was a pretty nice and big civilian cottage. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms… Once furnished, the house would definitely be a cozy place. There was even a large basement, probably used as a conference room, back then.

"So," Hiruzen said, taking a long drag on his pipe. "That's all of it. Konoha is about two hours from there, north-east. It's been years this hideout hadn't been used, probably because of its distance… but Minato and I will make sure it stays that way."

To his surprise, his statement was only answered by silence. He turned to the two women to see a daydreaming Tsunade and concerned Shizune.

"Tsunade… Are you okay?" he prudently asked.

She snickered shakily, her eyes emptily staring in distance.

"Sensei… These past years, everyone I cared about had to suffer in a way… Look, my whole family's dead! I'm not… I don't feel confident staying around Shizune! And now… Now, I'm supposed to give birth when life just keeps on taking everything from me!"

Tsunade looked down to stare at her hands, tears painfully swelling up in her eyes. After all this time, she still remembered the disturbing feeling of her lover's blood stuck in her palms.

"I won't be able to live with myself if anything happens to my baby, sensei."

Hiruzen reached his former student, and calmly patted her shoulder, Shizune silently whimpering behind her.

"There's nothing wrong in desiring the best for your loved ones, Tsunade." he took another long drag on his pipe and added. "Soon, you'll become a mother, my child. This is the most precious gift, life, itself, can give you. I know this is easier said than actually done, but why don't you try and trust life again for this one?

You'll have to be strong for the kid and yourself, but don't forget you have people who'll help you and be there whenever you need. Myself included."

"You can count me in too, sensei." Shizune added with a sad smile.

"As well as Jiraiya, and… well, Minato… Of course." Hiruzen said.

Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed agitatedly.

' _Life's a bitch, that's for sure… but sensei's right… I need to be strong for my baby, no matter what.'_

Once she gathered her wits, she looked up to meet her former teacher's eyes.

"Thank you, sensei." she whispered.

"Don't worry about that." he smiled, grabbing his pipe.

"Don't ever blow smoke on me like that again." she murmured with a very noticeable tint of sharpness.

"Err…Of course… Don't worry about that…" the man growled, a drop of sweat slowly going down his forehead.

The visit continued until late night until they finally left for a small inn in the near village of Kariwa and get some well-deserved sleep.

Tsunade's pregnancy went on without much trouble other than her terrible mood shifts her friends had to suffer.

Three times a week, Minato visited the Slug Princess and her student, mostly at night to avoid any suspicions in the village. They often talked about each other's days but also about the baby's future. A quite sensible subject.

Tsunade, stubborn as ever, refused to even think about returning to Konoha while Minato affirmed the village's safety.

"It's not about safety, damn it!" Tsunade had yelled, one day of May.

"Then, what's it about then?" the man asked.

Tsunade tensed and visibly hesitated before answering.

"I-It's… It's about her being a kunoichi for this village."

Tsunade and Minato had learned about the baby's gender about a month ago.

They both smiled happily upon hearing they'll be the parents of a young girl. The blond Hokage even suggested, the next day, naming her Naruko. His face shining with a smile when the Slug Princess agreed. Though, she suspected he might have been somewhat inspired by his former mentor.

"Look at us, Tsunade!" Minato said. "Her father's Hokage and her mother is known all around the world by now, as one of the Legendary Sannin! Even though you don't want her to be implied in all that kind violence we had to go through, and I understand that, she'll need to know how to defend herself from our enemies. Our own pasts will someday become her burden… She'll have to get ready…"

The Slug Princess had slowly blinked at the sad truth. After a long discussion, they both came to a compromise: Naruko would spend a calm and easy childhood away from Konoha until she turned at least 10 or so, when she would join the Village's Academy.

Tsunade wasn't completely okay with that but she knew shehad asked too much from the Fourth Hokage, so she went with it.

Over the seven months after the announcement, and once they finally both admitted their blame on 'the accident', the two parents inevitably befriended each other.

Tsunade found Minato surprisingly mature for his age, so optimist about the whole situation that she often surprised a happy smile on her face when talking about her daughter. The man she thought as a nonchalant brat at first, was in fact truly caring about anything she said to him, responding to each of her silliest whims. She couldn't really complain at all about her daughter's father behavior.

Minato, on his side, realized that beneath the anger and harshness she constantly exposed to others, Tsunade was actually a kind and gentle woman, but it was obvious she was mentally broken by the deaths and violence.

At the end, even though both of them weren't ready or particularly interested in getting in any kind of 'relationship', they agreed to do their best and give their daughter the love she deserved.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen often visited along with the young Hokage.

Hiruzen, being a true father figure for the pregnant woman, worried about every minor complication.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was caught several times staring at Tsunade's developing chest, hiding his never-ending nosebleeds the best way he could while scribbling agitatedly on his notebook.

Though, the blonde appreciated the presence of the perverted Sage. He could sure be very fancy sometimes, but the man was wise, and a true friend she could rely on.

Despite staying sober for quite some time, Tsunade still hadn't got over her gambling addiction. However, due to the fact there wasn't any casinos or gamblers nearby, she frequently pressed Minato into betting what their daughter would inherit from them.

Naruko would definitely obtain her brown eyes.

* * *

-Minato-

Finally came October 10th, when her waters broke. Minato was quickly notified and through the **Hirashin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)** and his marked kunais, he quickly brought Tsunade and Shizune to a secret labor room, Hiruzen and he had established beneath the Hokage's residence.

Of course, no one in the village knew about this, which made Minato consider the possible shenanigans happening in the village, he, as the Hokage, had no knowledge about.

However, Tsunade's screams of pain quickly brought him back to the birth happening before him.

It was a bit perturbing to watch, and… painful, but the young man couldn't wait to meet his daughter.

"Y-You're doing just great, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried behind the blonde's wide-opened legs.

"AAAARGHH! SHIZUNE! GET HER OUUUUT!" she roared, sweat dripping on her forehead.

Minato swiftly moved to the bedside and gripped the woman's hand in support. Despite the slight chakra exhaustion he suffered from the long-distance **Hirashin** he performed earlier, he wouldn't miss for anything his first child's birth.

Of course, he didn't expect Tsunade to actually crush his hand, but he couldn't blame her for that.

"I-I see the head, Tsunade-sama…! But, it looks like she doesn't want to let go…" Shizune said.

"Oh, yeah...? Wonder where she got that stubbornness from…" the Hokage cheekily chuckled.

The poor blond man almost cried out on his knees when he felt a bone crumble under his hand's skin.

"OUUCH…! J-Just put that strength somewhere else, damn it!"

"YOU'RE RIGHT! FUCK IT! IT'S BEEN AN HOUR! I'M PUTTING CHAKRA IN IT!" Tsunade howled. And with that, the Sannin strongly shut her eyes, and held her breath in concentration, her face growing even more red.

Shizune's eyes widened at what she saw before her.

"W-What are you doing, Tsuna-…?! Oh… Oh… it's actually workin-… Oh Kami, keep going, Tsunade-sama!" she squealed, behind the blanket.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen entered the room, a concerned look on his face.

"The council has just ended, Minato… How has it been going?" the former Hokage asked.

"W-Well, it's been an hour, but Tsunade-hime has decided to make things ea-easier…" Minato wailed with a grimace at his painful hand.

"Alright! That's great, Tsunade, you're doing just fine! Err… don't forget to breath, though…" Hiruzen said as he moved to the blonde's bedside along Minato.

Tsunade only nodded, her breath still held, her face now taking a worrying purple shade.

"T-Tsunade?" Minato called.

But suddenly, Shizune's jaw dropped. "S-S-She's out! She's out, Tsunade-sama! You did it!"

The Sannin just dropped her head on the cushions, hardly catching her breath.

"Let… Let… Let me see… her…" she gasped hurriedly.

"Of course Tsunade-sama, let me just…"

Shizune precisely cut the umbilical cord and wiped the crying baby clean. Then, covering her in a comfy warm blanket, she handed her to her parents.

The pale Tsunade, hurriedly sat on her bed, extending her arms to finally hold the now most important being she now had in this world.

"Wow…! She… she's beautiful." Minato whispered with a radiant smile. His eyes shining in the secretive room's light.

"She's wonderful…" Tsunade mumbled, tears of happiness falling freely on her cheeks.

"…Hm… You lost your bet again, Tsunade-hime." Minato said after admiring his calmed daughter for a while."

"Yeah. Well this time, I'm glad."

The girl's skin tone was a mix of Tsunade's paleness and Minato's fair complexion, yet she visibly had her mother's face features and a lightly brighter platinum short blond hair. She also obtained some of her father's looks, like his jawline, or a bit of her nose… But the most striking one was her blue eyes shining in a way that you were in a loss of words when she looked at you directly.

The two of them watched in awe their daughter who was slowly stopping crying when a wave of exhaustion visibly hit Tsunade, who started shaking violently. Thankfully, Shizune was quick and delicately took Naruko from her.

"Here, Tsunade-sama, you're drained. You really should have done it the easy way… Now, please rest. I'll take care of her."

"Thank you, Shizune. Thank you for everything." the blonde said as she wiped off the tears stains on her cheeks.

Her apprentice flashed a smile and went to sit the other side of the room to check on the baby.

Minato took a glance at his kid's mother who was now dozing off from her effort. Taking advantage of the situation, he ran a hand between strands of her hair, to which the Sannin faintly raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you, Tsunade-chan." he said with a smile.

She took one last glance at him before losing consciousness.

"You… asshole." Tsunade managed to whisper with a smirk.

Once he saw her breathing settle steadily, the blond man let go of her hair and turned to the Sandaime Hokage.

"Hiruzen-sama, thank you for always being here for us… and for her particularly."

"It's my pleasure." Sarutobi answered with a smile. "It's good to see her finally… let's say 'settle down'... Since the war ended, I've been told she didn't truly live in pea-"

However, Hiruzen was interrupted by Jiraiya, who barged in the room panting loudly. The white-haired man took a second to catch his breath, his hands on his knees.

"Jiraiya, could you please be more respectful? Tsunade's resting here." Hiruzen asked angrily, surprised by the Toad Sage's appearance.

"M-Minato… Sensei… Kushina, she-…"

Before, he could continue, a wild maniacal killing intent entered the room freezing the four standing shinobi. Tsunade shivered but didn't wake up. Naruko, on her side, began crying to the oppressing tension that made irruption.

"Jiraiya-sensei…?"

"T-The Kyūbi has escaped… Kushina's dead."

* * *

 **A/N:**

Ahh... Cliffhangers feel nice… Definitely going to make more of it later… Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Not very long but necessary.

I do think Chapter 3 will be soon delivered with Chapter 4 as I'm, not a huge fan of my third one… :/

I'll think about it later… It's midnight where I am, right now. I'll go get some sleep.

Update 1 : **Bruh...** How could I even let you guys read that chapter with so much typos and bad grammar in it... It is now all fixed... I hope...

 **Reviews, favorites, suggestions (ships, jutsus, fights… whatever!) and follows are HIGHLY appreciated! Bonne nuit!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Where Is He?

**A/N:** Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed the first 2 chapters!

If you are interested by my story, please go read my bio!

Suggestions, complains and reviews (good and bad) are highly appreciated!

Have a nice read!

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

'Citation'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsu**

" **Evil/Demonical Talking"**

 **Check the answers and shout outs in the end of the chapter!**

 **Updated and fixed Chapter 2 :/ I'll try to be more careful in the future...**

 **I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately. Still crying for Haku.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **Chapter 3: Where Is He?**

-Tsunade-

Tsunade woke up on the morning, furiously thirsty and still a bit sore from the delivery. Though, the excitement of seeing her daughter got her to quickly sit up and open her eyes, despite her weariness.

Though instead of finding happy smiling faces at her face, she only found herself welcomed by concerned and pained looks.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya were both standing at each of her bed sides, some scratches visible on their faces. Obviously, something was wrong.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are looking at me like that…? Stop watching, you damn perverts!" she yelled hoarsely, quickly draping an arm over her chest and light hospital gown.

Though, when she noticed the lack of reactions from the two men, her eyes widened in panic.

"Oh Kami! NO!" she cried, tears instantly gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Where is she?! Please, don't tell me she-…"

She stopped when Shizune, the same look of despair on her face, approached her with Naruko in her arms… and a letter.

Of course, Tsunade stormed out of her bed in a flash, before grabbing her daughter, tears of relief falling from her eyes.

Holding her softly against her chest, she preciously hugged her babbling and confused daughter.

"What the hell's wrong with you three, damn it?!" she growled furiously at her three friends. "Scared me… Why are you all actin-"

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya somberly began with a sigh. "Just take a look at her…"

"Jiraiya!" Hiruzen rumbled angrily, glaring at the Sannin. "It's not the way we agreed to-"

It was too late, though. Tsunade had already slowly lowered her baby to have her cute face in full sight.

Gasping in shock, she saw three very faint and delicate whiskers-like marks had appeared. It was barely visible, but enough for the mother, who could have probably spotted it a mile away.

"W-W-What?! W-What happened? Who's done that?" she barked, her anger slowly building up.

The three glanced at each other anxiously, before Hiruzen finally decided to break the silence.

"Last night, after you passed out, there was an attack in Konoha…"

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. _'Of. Fucking. Course! What else could it have been!'_

"…the poor Kushina Uzumaki, she was jinchūriki… She had been taken and killed by some man… And… he somehow managed to extract the Kyūbi sealed inside her…"

"I… Wha-"

"He managed to take control of the demon…"

"But that's impossible!" she shrieked. "The only man who managed to do that was…"

"Madara Uchiha… Yes, we found it quite confusing at first… but we clearly saw it obey him, right before our very eyes… Clearly… whoever the responsible is possesses the Sharingan…" Gulping hard, he continued. "Then, he… he attacked the village with the beast… we've lost many people, yesterday…"

The former Hokage rubbed his eyes and took a long instant to process his own words, before resuming his retelling.

Tsunade, on her side, slowly sat on a chair. Running in her head distractively brushed her daughter's whiskers who cutely purred in response. As she did, the Slug Princess realized she had probably never heard such a relaxing sound before.

"… Minato, of course, confronted the man, and made him lose control over the Kyūbi with a contract seal... But the beast was still too powerful, unpredictable and unleashing its fury on the village. Minato decided to make a sacrifice to stop this madness…"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Sacrifice?"

"The only way to stop the beast was to seal it somewhere else… Somewhere young, strong and stable enough… Preferably related, in any way to the Uzumaki Clan, known for being able to stably host a large amount of chakra…"

Tears silently began falling on her cheeks, as she quickly understood what her sensei was telling her.

Her own grandmother was a Uzumaki.

But that couldn't be real, right? Maybe it was all a sick nightmare and she would wake up soon with Naruko safe in her arms…

But it felt way too real.

Way too painful.

"P-Please, sensei," she sobbed trying to not startle the confused baby in her arms. "P-P-Please tell me, s-sensei, h-he d-didn't do it to her!"

She looked at him intently, but the old man only kept the same sad look.

' _No… It can't be… damn it! She's just born…!'_

"Jiraiya, please!" she yelled lamely turning to him, her sobs only getting stronger.

Her fellow Sannin stayed quiet as well, tired from all the pain he had witnessed, he now had to face his friend learning a demon had been forcefully in her new born baby.

Naruko watched with incomprehension her mother's now uncontrollable lament and yells. Yet, she stayed unexpectedly silent as if aware of the whole situation.

"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade whimpered, losing control and crying her eyes out desperately.

"I… I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama…" Shizune gulped loudly as silent tears now flowed on her own cheeks. "Right after you passed out," she explained, "The Kyūbi attacked the village. The men then left to fight it while I stayed here to look after you and Naruko-chan."

"A-About an hour later, Yondaime-sama came back alone, he told me to hand you this letter when you wake up. Then he asked me if he could hold Naruko-chan a bit before leaving. Of course, I handed her to him. He took her and quickly got behind me saying he was sorry, then… he knocked me up with a chop to the neck and left."

Tsunade breathed hard. Slowly putting her sadness aside to leave place for her overwhelming anger.

"Where is he?" she sharply asked.

After a brief silence, Jiraiya finally spoke.

"He died, Tsunade-hime."

With that, the room went so quiet they could now only hear Naruko's soft moans.

Tsunade closed her eyes.

' _Minato… Basically, not you seal a demon in our not-even-a-day-old daughter, but you also keep her from having a father…'_

She clenched her fists.

' _I hate you so much…'_

"Tsunade… Understand that Minato had no other choice to protect the village. He sacrificed his very soul to seal the demon... He left us a note before taking Naruko, explaining he'd seal it in her because she was the only one able to bear the monster…"

" **I** could have done it, sensei! Why not just taking me?!" the blonde barked.

"The rates of survival on having a tailed beast sealed are higher for a newborn than a grown adult, Tsunade, you know it. Minato died as a hero and asked me to make sure that Naruko is considered as one in Konoha."

The mother just sighed.

"However, Minato probably hadn't planned to have witnesses during the sealing process. Those were probably shinobi, but it… doesn't matter anymore because the rumor of a blond baby being made the Kyūbi jinchūriki has spread in the village..."

"Ugh… can't this girl have a fuckin' break?!" Tsunade muttered.

"Thankfully, no one knows the baby's identity nor Minato being its father." Hiruzen continued.

"Why is that?"

"Some people are still deeply hurt by what just happened and already consider the jinchūriki a danger for Konoha and should be 'taken care of'…"

' _And now, her own village wants her dead... Hm… they'll have to 'take care' of me first…'_

"Others don't resent her… Though, as the new… Hokage, I've decided to write a law against talking about any Kyūbi jinchūriki so that Naruko don't get discriminated by children of her generation..."

"Whatever, sensei," she sighed. "I just want her safe…"

"Then I'll ask you, Shizune and Naruko to leave to the cabin, tonight."

Honestly, Hiruzen wanted Naruko baby the furthest possible from the village, for now.

As he's been strongly pressured by the council to find the blond baby, especially by Danzō, he knew the village was definitely not a good place for her.

"I-I'm fine with that... I'm so sick of all this." she whispered. Weirdly, she couldn't keep herself from thinking of Minato, a wave of sadness and rage shaking her.

* * *

When they finally arrived to the cabin that night, the two kunoichi brought the blond new to the cradle Minato and Jiraiya had bought for her. The one was amusingly decorated with painted toads and slugs of all colors.

Back then, Tsunade had found it cute and smiled, and as stupid as it might sound, she had even been excited to show it to Naruko.

Right now, she was just glad her girl was alive.

As the two kunoichi watched the girl get in a peaceful sleep, the Slug Princess slowly pulled Minato's letter tucked in her pants pocket.

She didn't truly feel like to even glance at it at first, but now that her anger had dissipated, she wanted to know what the blond man had had to tell her.

Carefully unfolding the paper, she started reading out loud so Shizune could hear.

"' _Tsunade-hime,_

 _I'm out of time so I'll try to keep it short._

 _I'm sorry for what I've done, Tsunade. But know that I don't expect you to truly forgive me._

 _A few minutes ago, I fought a man able to control the Kyūbi._

 _He had powers I've never seen before, and even if I managed to land a strong hit on him, the bastard still managed to escape by teleporting away…I guess…_

 _I will certainly die tonight._

 _But I'll die happy, because I leave my daughter behind with you._

 _When she asks you about me, please don't tell her who I am until she's ready._

 _Tell her I loved her like I had never loved anyone before. Tell her that I'll always watch over the both of you blondes._

 _Now you probably wonder why I did that. Well, if I did it successfully, then I guess you'll see for yourself and if I didn't, then… I don't even want to think about it._

 _That man was no joke, Tsunade-hime._

 _Konoha and our whole world are in danger again, Tsunade-hime._

 _But I think Naruko is the one who'll make it all better. With our both blood fueling her, why wouldn't she?_

 _I'm very glad I met you, Tsunade-hime. And even though it all started with a mistake, I'll call it now a blessing._

 _I named Jiraiya Naruko's godfather, so please don't do anything stupid and come join me too soon._

 _Also, tell Naruko to be careful with him around, he can be way too persuasive sometimes…_

 _I've also considered naming Shizune-san as her godmother. She's been watching her before she was even born… So I can't think of a better person for her, and I think you might agree._

 _I've left all my belongings and scrolls to your name. So they'll be sealed in the Hokage's vault until you request them._

 _Thank you again, Tsunade-chan._

 _Farewell,_

 _Yondaime Hokage, Minato.'"_

Tsunade finished reading, feeling a bit lighter than before. She preciously folded it back.

Even though she still cursed him with everything she had for what he's done to his daughter; the fact that he left a letter to her showed her the interest he held for the both of them.

She didn't really doubt it, but knowing he did somewhat appease her.

It also painfully made her regret to have missed his funeral.

That night, the two kunoichi longly talked about the letter.

Of course, Tsunade agreed naming Shizune her daughter's godmother, much to the latter's delight.

Later, Tsunade didn't sleep well that night, hesitating about everything she was once confident about. Sick nightmares of losing her child haunting her, she tiredly decided to spend her night watching over the innocent jinchūriki, with one thought relentlessly echoing in her mind.

 _'I failed to protect you once, Naru-chan. But I promise it won't ever happen again.'_

* * *

 **A/N:** I still do think Chapter 3 is a bit too boring, but I couldn't think of something else…

Chapters **will** get longer.

Next Chapter: Huge Time Skip and bonding!

 **Reviews, favorites, suggestions (ships, jutsus, fights… whatever!) and follows are** **HIGHLY** **appreciated!**

 **Now, shout outs!**

bankai777, Arianna Le Fay my first reviewers! Thanks again for having taken the time! Means a lot! I see you!

Arcane Charmcaster Thank you so much. I'll keep that in mind. After reading Chapter 2, I realized I missed a LOT of typos and other dumb errors. I'm managing for now but I may slide in your DMs one day…

PinkiePieParty122894 Thanks for the review! Means a lot! I definitely thought people would hate my writing but if even only one person liked my story, then mission's complete!

Thank you Guest, but sorry :/ !


	4. Chapter 4 - I'll Show You When We Spar

**A/N:** **Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed the first chapters!**

If you are interested by my story, please go read my bio!

Suggestions, complains and reviews (good and bad) are highly appreciated!

Have a nice read!

"Talking"

' _Thinking'_

'Citation'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsu**

" **Evil/Demonical Talking"**

 **I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.** **Or Naruto wouldn't have spammed Rasengan/Kage Bunshins like that.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **Chapter 4: I'll Show You When We Spar.**

-Hiruzen-

"Happy birthday, Naruko-chan!"

It's been six years now since the 'Kyūbi Attack' on Konoha. Hiruzen had to work hard again as a Hokage to make the Hidden Village rise again from its ashes, majorly thanks to the Yondaime who died to limit its destruction. Today was the Kyūbi's defeat celebration day in Konoha. A special day off when people celebrated the Kyūbi's defeat but aslo commemorated the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice as well as the other bijū's victims.

Though, the Sandaime could not miss his 'surrogate' grandchild's birthday. Leaving a **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)** behind, he had left to the Senju cabin.

Each visit, he was a bit more amazed to see how fast the blonde was growing up. One day, struggling on her feet, and madly running around two months later.

This time, he was stunned by how splendid the girl now looked. She was like a mini Tsunade with long brighter blond hair reaching the middle of her back. Soft spiky bangs draping over her forehead and framing an innocuous-looking face. The Senju girl was also wearing a pale pink knee-length dress highlighting her shining piercing blue eyes. Her 'whiskers' were slightly more noticeable but still added a cute feature to her small face.

However, when he knocked on the door, he hadn't really expected to be welcomed by a sad smile and puffy eyes.

"Thank you, Jiji!" she said with a brief one-arm hug. Obviously, she was upset.

With a swift step aside to let him enter the cabin, they walked to the living room.

Even more worrying was her uncharacteristic silence.

"You look lovely, Naruko-chan... At this rate, you'll get prettier than Konoha's women in no time!"

At this, the blonde slightly lightened up and blushed a little.

"Thank you, Jii-chan!" she said with a giggle. "But honestly, I don't really like that dress…"

"Why? It seems fine to me."

Naruko stopped and frowned as she turned on herself to prove her point.

"No, it's not! I don't like pink! I wanted an orange one! And also, strong kunoichi don't wear dresses!"

Hiruzen chuckled at her words much to the girl's annoyance, who crossed her arms in frustration.

The old man sighed with a smile. ' _If only people could stay that innocent…'_

"And what makes you say that?" he asked, smirking.

Naruko raised her eyebrows as if it was obvious. "Well, Kaa-chan and Shizune-nee don't wear dresses, they wear kimonos."

"Oh…! Then, why don't you wear one?" Hiruzen asked with a smile.

"'cause Mama made me wear that! Says it fits me well…" she added with a pout. "And kimonos are not comfortable at all! I don't understand why they keep wearing those…"

' _Six years old and already a fashionista…'_

Hiruzen rubbed his eyes, thinking of a lecture.

"Naruko-chan, don't judge anyone by their looks, especially kunoichi. Some people may look like they're harmless or weak but you never know until it's too late… Remember that, okay?"

While he talked, she had the usual look of attention she gave him whenever he talked her about shinobi things. The girl's been educated about the shinobi world since she was four and obviously, she was excited to integrate it.

"Sure, Jii-chan! Thank you!" she said, hugginghim with a genuine smile.

"Don't worry about it, girl." Getting up, he softly took her small hand in his wrinkly one. "Now come on, let's go see the other girls."

But before he could move to the living room, he felt her lightly pull him.

"Jii-chan… can I ask you something?"

He gulped and crouched before the blonde. ' _Better make no mistake or Tsunade'll kill me…'_

"What is it, girl?"

"Why doesn't Mom want me to go back to Konoha yet…? I was born there, right?" the jinchūriki asked, looking directly at the old man's eyes.

It was really hard to lie to the innocent girl, but at the same time, it was way too early to tell her the whole harsh truth.

"Naruko-chan… your mother has a lot of enemies in this world…"

"Yeah, yeah… I know… because she's a Senju…" the blonde whispered.

"… but also because she's a war veteran and a hero known all around the world for her strength and prestige… People might want her dead for money or… fame…"

"And what does it have to do with me?"

Hiruzen snorted. ' _Those two sure do like interrupting me…'_

"It has a lot of things to do with you, actually…"

"What do you mean, Jii-san?" she asked.

"Um… Wait, let me make you an example. Imagine that, one day, you have to face a powerful enemy…"

The girl smiled widely at the thought…

"…that you can't defeat…" he continued.

…before disappearing and leave place for a frown.

"I'll work hard and make sure it doesn't happen, Jiji!" she yelled with a raised fist.

"I don't doubt it." the old man chuckled patting her head. "But by fighting someone powerful, one will always learn from it, even if they're defeated. So… In a way… We can say that it can sometimes be a great thing to happen."

The blonde dropped her raised fist and nodded in understanding.

To her, there was definitely no one wiser than her ojii-san.

"So, in theory, the one of the only ways to survive against someone stronger than you, is to spot and exploit any of their weaknesses, right?" he asked.

"Right!"

"So what do you think are your mother's weaknesses, Naruko-chan?"

The girl scratched her chin as she looked for something she never really envisaged her mother was having.

"Umm… Well… There's got to be her temper… She can get angry pretty easily…" the girl's blue eyes suddenly, she quickly joined her hands together at the Hokage. "Please, Jii-san, don't tell her I said that!"

"Don't worry, I won't." the man chuckled while the blonde sighed in relief.

"Hoof…" she gasped, fidgeting her dress, "And, there's that blood fear thing Shizune-nee told me about… But I can't think of anything besides that…"

"Hmm… Well, there's an easy one…" he muttered. "You, Naruko."

Her eyebrows raised so much they were now barely visible behind her bangs. She pointed a finger to her chest as if he had been mentioning someone else.

"M-Me?"

The Hokage nodded.

"I'm… I'm her weakness?"

"Well, weakness is not a very good way to say that…" he corrected. "I think the best thing we could say to describe you is 'easy target'."

The blonde frowned and put her both hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm not 'easy'!" she pouted.

"Alright… Maybe you're not easy. But, you're still a target for the bad people out there. That's why your kaa-san never goes out with you in her real appearance… So no one recognizes you as her daughter yet."

"B-But what… What would they do to me?" the blond-haired asked, confused.

The Sandaime sighed loudly.

"You know… These people can be quite heartless... they could… they could kill you…"

Hiruzen instantly thought about all the people Tsunade owed money. Of course, they weren't stupid enough to try and pay people to attack the Legendary Sannin. Though, killing a kid would be a far more motivating job for missing-nins.

"They could take you and ask for money… The best to do for now is to wait until you're ready enough to defend yourself."

"Then, why don't I start training, now? All I do is learning, learning and learning… I already read and I know enough about the shinobi cultu-"

The Hokage put a warm hand on Naruko's shoulder. "Naruko, do you know how old your mother was when she became a genin?"

"Err… Yeah… Six, I think, jii-chan…"

"Exactly. Just like you today. Now, when you're having fun with Shizune-san, your mother, at the time, had to go on missions away from her family and her home."

"I know what you're thinking," he continued. "that's what shinobi do. But I'm pretty sure that if you ask her, she'd tell you how much she regret the time with her family. Being a kunoichi is great, Naruko-chan, but don't forget the most important: your friends and family."

The blonde nodded slowly, a bit ashamed of her silly whims. It wasn't something she had thought about before. All she dreamed of was becoming as awesome as the two women surrounding her, and not what they really had to sacrifice. Hiruzen was right, for now, let's just enjoy her time with her family.

"T-Thank you, Jiji."

"Don't worry about it, Naruko." he said, slowly standing back up. "Was that the reason why you were upset back then?

"Not r-really… I-I mean…"

The Hokage noticed the sudden shakiness in the girl's voice.

"I asked Mama about my Otoo-san…" she stuttered a bit shakily.

Hiruzen closed his eyes to rub them. ' _Well… It had to happen…'_

"A-All the girls I play with at the village come to the park with their fathers… I-I thought he was just away… But h-he's… he's…"

With that, the girl bursted in tears, sobbing shamefully in front of Hiruzen.

The Hokage instinctively kneeled again to hug and calm her sorrow.

"Shh… Shh… It's okay, Naruko." Backing away, he stared straight at her eyes. "Your father was a really strong shinobi, a hero who died protecting a lot of people… But most importantly, he loved you. I know it's hard, Naruko-chan, but believe me when I say that he'd hate to see you sad about that."

"Was… W-Was that the K-Kyūbi?" she muttered. "Was that the Kyūbi who's killed him?"

Hiruzen blinked and nodded slowly. The reality hitting him. ' _Her father's murderer is trapped inside her… What will happen when she learns it…?'_

The blonde took a long moment to gather her wits, each sob breaking the old man's heart a little.

"I-I just w-wish he was here with us…" she finally said.

The Hokage smiled to her.

"Trust me, Naruko-chan, he is."

Confused, Naruko raised her eyebrows, allowing the Sandaime to see her wide shining blue eyes.

* * *

-Tsunade-

Tsunade and Shizune were sitting at the dining table when they helplessly heard Naruko's muffled cries in the corridor, followed by the Sandaime's comforting voice.

"Ugh…. I feel so useless, right now, Shizune." The Slug Princess whispered as she took her head in her hands.

"Tsunade-sama, just because you didn't tell her about him before she asked doesn't make you a bad." Shizune stated calmly.

"Thank you, Shizune. But again, please, drop that damn 'sama'!" Tsunade said exasperatedly.

"But-"

"No buts, you're my friend, Shizune."

Tsunade and Shizune smiled to each other.

"Thank you… Tsunade-san… It means much to me."

As she rolled her eyes, Tsunade heard softer sobs in the corridor. She ran a hand over her hair in frustration before looking at the orange Konoha's swirl shaped cake.

At first, she was a bit scared Naruko wouldn't care so much for Konoha like Minato had wished. But after all the stories she's heard about the Sannin and the Sandaime, Naruko pictured the village as the place her family risked everything to protect.

So, naturally, she dreamed of living her own adventures there.

"So, Shizune, how's your studies been going?" she asked distractively.

"It's been okay, I guess. I've been out a lot at Kariwa. Though, no one seems to really have any accident or sickness in that village… Fortunately, I guess… So, I often work on the theory… Just like Naruko." the dark-haired kunoichi sighed. "Tsunade-san… Do you think you can go to the hospital with me, next time…? Under your usual **Henge** , no one'll recognize you…"

"I-I don't think I'm ready yet, Shizune… I-"

She stopped when mid-platinum blond hair appeared in the edge of her field of view.

Turning her head, she saw her daughter stand on the living room doorframe with her former sensei.

The girl's eyes were still a bit red and puffy, but the old man gave her a simple ' _don't worry about it'_ look.

"Naru-chan… are you okay?" the blonde asked hesitantly.

When she finally told her about her father being deceased, the girl just ran away to lock herself in her room. Tsunade and Shizune didn't press her to talk, but the muffled cries they had to listen were definitely troubling. The Sannin was more than relieved to hear Naruko finally leaving her room to open to her sensei.

The young girl took a brief glance at the old man beside her, sniffed and smirked.

"Why wouldn't I be, Mama?"

Tsunade smiled and stood up from her chair to go hug the blond.

"You're so brave… I'm so proud of you, baby." she muttered in her girl's ear.

"Mom, c'mon… I c-can barely breathe…" Naruko whined, struggling at the mother's bear hold. "And I'm not your baby anymore! I'm six, today!"

"Oh yeah… right…"

The Slug Princess stood up emotionally and approached her former sensei for a gentle one-armed hug.

"Alright, now! How about you blow the candles, Naruko-chan?" Hiruzen asked later. "I've got some nice presents for you!"

"Seriously?!" Tsunade yelled. "Are you serious, sensei?!"

"Wow, so cool, Jiji!" the blonde screamed before running to hug the man, laughing uncontrollably. The girl watched in awe the dozens of kunai and shuriken as well as the basic genin pouch she had just unboxed.

Tsunade suspected her daughter was in happier about the weapons' handles strapped with black and orange tapes than the actual tools.

But seeing the genuine smile on her face, she couldn't bring herself to kill her light happy mood.

However, the Sannin watched the whole scene, her hands grabbing her hips in exasperation, and a vein appearing on one side of her temple.

When Hiruzen finally caught her glare, the joyful smile he wore quickly faded away. Closing his eyes, he gently pushed the ecstatic girl hugging his leg away, then moved to sit at the dining table, closely followed by the Slug Princess.

"You're being way too overprotective, Tsunade." he muttered calmly.

"Overprotective?!" the mother hissed. "I'm being careful, sensei. She's only six!"

"Age doesn't matter... You know that better than anyone."

The Sannin blinked.

' _Why does he always have to be so right?!"_

Watching Naruko exposing her new tools to Shizune and Tonton, Tsunade eyed the old man.

"I told her about her father, sensei. She just doesn't know he was the Yondaime."

"I know." the man replied, serving himself a piece of the orange cake.

"So… What did she say?" she asked a bit anxiously before briefly eyeing the blonde fidgeting her shuriken. Hiruzen simply chuckled as he chewed off his cake.

"Hmpf! She doesn't hate you for that, Tsunade. Don't worry about that!" he grumbled. "Hell, you're her hero! The girl just wishes she got to meet him, of course. That's natural. I told her we'd tell her more about him later... In fact, there's a lot of things we have to tell her later..."

"I know right? I just keep wondering how I'll tell her..."

"You'll manage." he quickly said, returning to his piece of cake.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. ' _Easier said than done, sensei…'_ Shizune left to the kitchen in silence when the Sannin spoke again.

"Sensei, does she… does she really think I'm some kind of hero?"

"Of course she does, Shizune-chan and I have been telling her about what you've done for years, she's literally your number one fan-girl right now. She just doesn't show it."

"Aww… My baby's so cute!" she clapped, smiling to an oblivious Naruko, thumb-sucking.

' _Thumb-sucking?!'_

"Naruko! Get your ass over here!" the birthday girl obeyed and approached quickly, her thumb still stuck in her mouth. "What's with the thumb, honey? Thought you were over it?"

Naruko blushed and shamefully looked down at her feet.

"I am, Ma…I… Errr… Well… Actually… I just accidently cut myself with a kunai." Naruko said with a trying smile.

By the killing intent he felt, Hiruzen knew better and stared down at his empty plate, pretending he he hadn't paid attention to the conversation happening a meter besides him.

"I think it doesn't bleed anymore, Mom…"

"Alright… Let me see that, love." Tsunade whispered, setting her anger aside.

Naruko hesitantly slipped her thumb out of her mouth before extending it to her mother.

The latter softly took it, before examining the clean finger. After a minute frowning, she slowly let go of her girl's hand.

"I-I don't see anything… Where did it cut you, Naru-chan?"

"Right there!" the blonde said pointing her thumb. It was intact.

"There's nothing, honey..." Tsunade said, confused. Hiruzen, on his side, watched suspiciously the scene.

The girl turned her hand to see by herself and looked up at the two adults, beaming with a smile.

"Yes! It did it again, Ma!" she yelled with delight.

Tsunade instinctually eyed her sensei who only looked at her back, perplexed.

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked.

"Last time in the park, I accidently fell on my hands when Mom didn't watch…" she began proudly.

"Why didn't you tell me, Naruko-chan?" Tsunade shrieked.

"Well, I wanted to, I swear… But by the time I got up and walked to you it didn't hurt anymore! The cuts closed by themselves! Like… magically! And it just happened again!" she explained with the same proud smile.

But it quickly fell as the two adults just looked at her with a look of sorrow she didn't like at all.

"What's wrong?!" she asked.

"N-Nothing, honey… It's… It's nice." the Slug Princess said with a fake happy smile.

"I know, right?!" the blonde said, her proud smile returning. "Maybe I'm some kind of medical prodigy, just like you, Mom?"

The mother half-heartedly chuckled. "Maybe you are, love..." With a tired sigh, she quickly added. "Naru-chan, I've got another present for you too."

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. "Ma, you already bought me clothe…!" she said dazedly.

"Yeah, I know." Tsunade said. "Naruko, listen. Starting tomorrow, we'll start doing basic kunoichi trainings…

But before Tsunade could even continue, the young Senju had jumped in a flash of blond hair, to hug the Sannin tightly. With a light peck to her mother's cheek, she yelled. "Thank you so much, Ma! I've waited for so long!"

Of course, the mother could only smile and enjoy her daughter's happiness but the fast-healing skill she had just discovered from the blonde was deeply bothering her.

"Now, now, girl, calm down!" Tsunade chuckled, pinching the girl's puffy cheek. "Go tidy your stuff up in your room, and we'll talk about it."

"Alright!" the girl roared with a raised clenched fist, then quickly left the living room with Shizune.

Once the room was cleared, Hiruzen turned to the blond-haired kunoichi.

"A real fan girl…" the man snickered.

Tsunade ignored him, a serious face falling brutally.

"If this thing works like my **Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth)** , then that kind of fast regeneration shortens her lifespan."

"It might be coming from the…"

"It has to, sensei." she declared. "From what Jiraiya told me back then, the seal was designed to let some of the beast's chakra out. It must have been a minor cut so it was healed pretty quickly…"

Both of them sighed at the poor kid's trouble. Only one problem for her among a lot of others.

"Speaking of the perv… What's he become, sensei? He stopped coming here a long ago…"

' _Actually, he stopped coming when I stopped breastfeeding Naruko… That man is seriously a whole new level of perversion.'_

"He did because I asked him, Tsunade. Jiraiya is talented for his spying and intel-retrieving skills. So, the fact that he's been away for so long probably means he has a lead on something… I'm still waiting for his reports."

"And you're not worried about him?"

"I trust him like I trust you, Tsunade. He'll be fine"

Both of them went silent, with a brief thought for the third Sannin, Orochimaru.

* * *

"You look so weird with black hair, Mama…"

Tsunade raised her eyebrows.

That morning, they were walking to a clearing the Sannin had spotted a while ago. In fact, she thought it was a good place for training, away from prying eyes and about thirty minutes away from the cottage, though she hadn't expected to go so early.

Time sure did fly.

"So you can recognize me?"

That was surprising to hear. She had made sure to change everything about her clothes and appearance.

"Kaa-chan, I could recognize you with my eyes closed!"

The Sannin chuckled and softly pinched her daughter's cheek, who laughed at the gesture. This has always been her mother's affectional move to her.

The blonde was wearing a simple white t-shirt, orange shorts and basic blue sandals. For once, she didn't complain about her outfit, she described it 'fitting'.

"I should be the one saying that kind of things, you know?" Tsunade said.

Naruko giggled again and smiled even more widely as they approached a clearing in the middle of the forest's tall green trees.

"Is that the place?" the girl asked.

"Hm hm." the ' _dark-haired'_ kunoichi hummed.

"Wow… So cool!" Naruko whispered in awe.

And with that, the blonde ran to their improvised training ground.

While the young girl was busy admiring the colorful flowers and high trees surrounding them, Tsunade grabbed an orange and black kunai she had taken from her daughter, then drew a visible cross on a near oak's trunk.

Once she found it good enough, she called out for the blonde who instantly stormed off to her, excitement emanating from her like a heater.

"Okay, girl. First lesson of the day: Throwing Exercise." she finally told her.

"Alright!" the girl yelled, before looking in her pouch for her customized shuriken and kunai.

"We'll start with shuriken, honey."

The blonde nodded and put her kunai back in her pouch. She then took 2 shuriken in each hands, waiting for the orders.

"Okay, Naru-chan, show me your throwing stance."

The girl hesitated a bit before getting in a shaky pose. Though, in the process, she accidentally made one shuriken fall.

"Ugh… It's actually pretty hard…"

Tsunade giggled while Naruko narrowed her eyes to her. Catching her gaze, the Sannin slowly stopped laughing.

"Don't worry, love. Those are adult sized shuriken, and your hands are still pretty small so don't try to take too many at the time, for now."

"Um… Okay."

They continued like this for a while, Tsunade carefully adjusting her daughter's stance so she could throw properly and at ease.

At the end, Naruko found a good stance where she managed to hold two shuriken in the right hand but only one in the left one, much to her frustration.

Though, Tsunade noticed she had the ability to magically cheer her daughter up with simple comments like 'good job!' or 'keep going!' making it really easy to teach her.

Later, they switched to the kunai throwing stance, a bit simpler as kunai were easier to handle.

Again, Naruko took her time but managed. In fact, both of them were appreciating the moment they spent together so it wasn't really a problem.

"Alright, lady, you're good with the kunai!" Tsunade stated after a moment. "Now, let's throw! See the target over there?" she asked pointing the oak about ten meters from them. "Try to hit it at the middle of the cross with a shuriken. When you do, wake me up."

"Wake you up?" Naruko asked.

But Tsunade didn't answer and silently walked to sit away.

Naruko's jaw almost crashed on the grass. "Mama, are you serious?!" she yelled. "I'm too far!"

It was true. She was only six and still too physically weak to throw at this distance… Especially when she had never thrown one before.

But Tsunade just smiled.

"Don't cheat, Naru-chan." she said calmly.

The exercise seemed impossible, not only did she have to throw it precisely at a big distance, but she also had to do it hard enough to make the shuriken pierce the tree's large trunk.

Right now, she didn't feel like training anymore.

"Naruko-chan," Tsunade said, looking at her intently. "You'll manage."

The Slug Princess smiled and closed her eyes, peacefully sitting and relaxing against a random tree.

Naruko watched for a minute her mother tranquilly getting to sleep.

She knew she'd never make it but if her mother trusted her, there was no way she'd disappoint her.

* * *

Tsunade woke up peacefully about an hour later, feeling a light weight on her lap.

Looking down, she saw Naruko's sleepy face, snoring lightly.

Stroking the girl's hair, she slowly woke her up.

"Hey, Naru-chan… wake up, we ain't done yet."

"Mmm… Yeah…" the blonde muttered, rubbing softly her eyes.

"So… How did it go?" she asked.

The blonde got up instantly like bitten by a snake. Pointing the tree to Tsunade.

"Look at that yourself, Kaa-chan!" she yelled with a smile.

Tsunade swiftly got up saw planted on the tree about half a dozen of orange and black shuriken. Though, she smiled brightly when she noticed one piercing perfectly the cross.

She even laughed in delight.

"Now, that's my girl! I knew you could do it!" she bawled.

Naruko blushed. "Thanks, Ma!"

"Now, remember to always be confident about your throws. That shot seemed impossible, right? But because you were determined and I trusted you, you made it. Next time, you'll just have to trust yourself, okay?"

She nodded vigorously. "So, what do we do next?"

Tsunade glanced at the bright blue sky before rummaging through the backpack she had brought with them.

"Well… It's past noon, so we eat!" she said pulling two bentos from the grey bag. "Then, we'll work on your chakra."

"Alright!" the blonde whooped. "Training's so cool, Ma!"

"Yeah, it can be…" she smiled.

' _She wouldn't be saying that if we did_ _ **real**_ _training'_

The two Senju sat cross-legged in front of the wounded tree, opening their bentos.

While they ate in comfortable silence, Naruko curiously eyed her mother.

"Kaa-chan…?" she asked.

"What's up, hime?"

"Do you think… I can become a strong kunoichi like you one day?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Well… The girls of my age in Kariwa, the village… They're all taller than me... They read better than me... They even run faster than me… I… I feel wea-"

"Naruko-chan…" The Sannin interrupted, keeping her eyes on the tree. "Just because people around you seem greater doesn't mean you're not great yourself. Take your time to grow up and learn, then at the end of the road, you'll see who made it."

Tsunade smirked and ruffled the girl's hair.

"I know you will." Tsunade muttered.

Naruko blushed and smiled again. Her mother always seemed to have the answer to all her questions and doubts. Sure, it was better to not upset the Slug Princess, but very often, there were times when she literally felt connected to her.

And she never wanted these moments to end.

"Besides you're my daughter…" Tsunade continued. "What could go wrong?"

The two giggled before sneezing violently at the same time, leaving the two extremely confused

Once they finished their meal, they turned arond so they could face each other. Both still leg-crossed, Naruko feared a bit the exercise to be as troubling than the previous one.

"So… what's the thing?"

"Take my hands." the Sannin said.

Naruko gulped but obeyed. "Chakra is the most important thing for a shinobi, and you probably know it. Basically, even the weakest shinobi with the best chakra control can be a terrible foe."

"Hm hm."

"I, personally, have no trouble controlling and molding chakra. With that, I'm able to do a lot of… cool things… But I'll show you when we spar."

Naruko smiled excitedly at this.

"By joining our hands, I'll be able to sense the chakra flow in your body enough help you understand it and get a hand on it. Got it?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, let's begin…! Close your eyes and focus on my voice. That's it… Take deep slow breaths… Like that… Now I want you to imagine a big pool… A large pool around your belly filled with your chakra… Okay, now that pool has a lot of arms spreading all over your body… your legs, your feet, your hands… your fingers…" Tsunade took a deep breath. "Now I want you to try and control your main pool. Control it so you keep a bigger and equal amount of chakra in every part of your body."

Naruko complied and closed her eyes in concentration. The Sannin did the same to get the subtle feel of her daughter getting a hand of her chakra with difficulty. Though, it was quite good for a first time.

But later, Tsunade's mood quickly fell when she realized every time Naruko was near to complete the simple exercise, briefs but powerful pulses of chakra, kept disrupting and bothering her control. The pulses were random making it impossible to prevent them.

It took a second for the mother to figure it was the Kyūbi's chakra bothering her.

Nearly half an hour later, Tsunade stopped the exercise. It was clear that if it wasn't for the beast she held in her, Naruko had a pretty good natural chakra control by now, just like the Sannin did at her age.

What also astonished her was the huge amount of chakra Naruko had for a six years old. Even some experienced genin didn't have that much chakra.

' _I guess being a jinchūriki have its benefits…'_ she thought before wincing hard. How could she even think that?

"I almost got it, Mom! I felt it! But every time, I feel like I just can't-"

"It's alright, girl, you did just fine… Now that you know how it feels, you can do that type of training at home before sleeping… Don't forget to always calm down before controlling your chakra, alright? Once I know you're ready, we'll start the harder exercises."

With a pout, Naruko nodded. She had expected to at least succeed once but it was like her own body didn't want to.

Tsunade swiftly got up and moved behind her daughter. With two solid elastics she had grabbed from her bag, she proceeded to tie Naruko's hair in a blond twin-tails style. It was different than hers, but she smiled at how her daughter resembled her even more. The twin-tails almost reaching the middle of her back.

"Now, girl, we spar!"

"HAI!"

* * *

-Naruko-

Naruko, in a basic academy stance, was looking at the woman, a small distance before her.

Even though she didn't look like her mother at all. It didn't really make it easier to attack.

"Come on, Naruko! I told you: I won't fight back… At least, for now."

' _Ugh… Here goes nothing…"_

Naruko gulped loudly and began running towards the woman, who was peacefully holding her hands behind her back.

The blonde tried to ignore the cheeky attitude and aimed for a punch to her mother's stomach. She lamely missed as Tsunade simply made a step around her.

Naturally, Naruko didn't give up and tried a sidekick the Sannin had no problem to avoid again, with a smooth step back.

In frustration, the young girl rushed to her, throwing punches every time Tsunade was at reach. However, no strikes ever found its way to her mother. It was like she knew what she was thinking.

' _Well… It's not difficult… You're dumbly charging her… Think, Naruko!'_

But before she could even consider another strategy, the Sannin raised a finger on her chest to gently push her away. The poor blonde, of course, didn't expect to be sent flying, and skid away on the grass for about a dozen of meters.

' _She… she got me… with a single finger!'_

When her violent glide finally came to a stop, the blonde stayed laying on the ground for a moment, staring at the blue sky.

' _I won't fight back she said…'_ Narrowing her eyes, she tried figuring a new strategy out… ' _She's stronger than me… And she's literally seeing everything I try to do… I can't overpower her…'_

"Giving up already?" she heard Tsunade ask, slowly approaching.

' _Maybe that's the thing… maybe that's the thing… being unpredictable…'_

Naruko slowly got on a sitting position with a lively grin.

"Of course not! I never give up!"

Tsunade smiled in return.

"Alright… Let's go, then!"

* * *

-Tsunade-

With that exercise, Tsunade had confirmed her daughter definitely had stamina.

With the draining chakra exercise they had done earlier, she hadn't really expected the girl to carry the fight on for very long.

But despite her exhaustion, her determination had kept her going. Furthermore, her fighting had become a bit harder to dodge. At the end, she even had had to use her hand to block a shaky weak kick.

And with that, she called the training to an end.

"Was… Was I good, Mama?" she had muttered.

"You were awesome, Naru-chan. As expected."

After taking a moment to breathe, they had left the improvised training ground to go home with Naruko's joyful retelling of the first exercise on the way.

That evening, when Tsunade overheard her tell Shizune she just had the best day of her life with, she couldn't stop herself from tearing up. Unconsciously, Naruko had just made it inestimable for the Sannin.

' _Well done, girl… You've officially made me soft.'_

* * *

 **A/N:** There it is!

I guess you could call this chapter a filler but it's an important part of Naruko's past that deserves to be written.

Tell me what you think!

If you missed them, shout outs are in chapter 3!

 **Reviews, favorites, suggestions (ships, jutsus, fights… whatever!) and follows are HIGHLY appreciated!**


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